Chapter 7
Darkness and pain surrounded her. Where was she? What happened? Oh yeah.
The cliff.
The waterfall.
The explosion.
The fall.
Then pain.
She couldn't feel her body but she could feel pain. Odd. It was everywhere just like the darkness. All though she couldn't feel her body exactly, Astrid decided to try and move her limbs; or at least what she thought her limbs were. A finger twitched, then another and that's when she felt the surface she was on for the first time.
It was soft…lots of soft things actually. Was it…grass? Another stroke and she was sure, definitely grass. Her hand moved gently against it, eyes still closed, she just laid there enjoying the natural cushion underneath her.
The fall had taken all but a second before her and Ruff hit the blistering cold river below. Water rushed around her hitting her all over her body like tiny daggers, quickly stealing her breath away in the process. The river's current tossed her around like a cloth doll, causing her to strike several underwater rocks as she grew farther from the waterfall; somewhere along the line the blows caused her to lose consciousness. She figured she would have drowned but it seems some God had taken mercy on her and washed her a shore instead.
Astrid still had her eyes closed, just enjoying the suns rays warming her body when a voice broke through her peacefulness. A voice that caused her heart to freeze and her breath to stop.
"Looks like you finally woke up milady."
Hiccup.
Astrid's eyes snapped open and that's when she saw him; staring straight down at her with those gorgeous, compassionate, wonderful green eyes. A gentle smile spread across his face and he spoke again, "you took quite the fall, Astrid."
How? How was he here? How was he here on this Thor forsaken island talking to her like she didn't look like Hel; or had been hunted for days by evil men. How?
"H-Hiccup…w-wh-when did you…" she couldn't finish her sentence, talking and thinking at the same time was to much at the moment.
Placing a hand on the side on her face, "don't worry about that Ast I'm here now. Nothing bad will happen anymore I'll protect you."
She still didn't understand, of course she believed that Hiccup would always protect her but how on Midgard was he here to do that?! This all just didn't make any sense.
Looking around slowly Astrid also noticed there was no one around them, just the river, grass and Hiccup. Where was Ruff, Toothless, anyone? Wouldn't they be with him? Things just weren't adding up. Turning her eyes back to her beloved, who just kept smiling down at her, she tried desperately to form a question again but no words would come out.
Hiccup was still stroking her cheek when he spoke again, "time to get up bitch." He said in a perfectly pleasant tone before he pulled his hand away and stood fully beside her fallen form.
Did he….did he just call her a bitch?
Before Astrid could think anymore on the absurdity of Hiccup calling her a bitch he pulled his leg back and delivered a swift kick to her stomach.
Pain shot through her abdomen while stars danced in front of her vision and water spewed out of her mouth and onto the sandy ground below.
Sand?
The blinding stars finally faded away and left her staring directly at the sandy ground where her face half rested in sand and water laced vomit. Rolling her body off her side and onto her back; she found herself staring yet again into someone's eyes. Only this time though they were not the kind green ones of her Hiccup, no this time they were cold grey ones of an unknown man above her.
It was then she realized it was all a cruel dream. The grass, Hiccup; it was all just a way for her mind to escape the pain her body was enduring. Hiccup wasn't there, no one was there, no one to save her.
Her heart began to speed up as a wicked smile spread across the face of the man hovering above her. He knelt down again bringing their two faces close to one another.
"Welcome to Screaming Siren island beautiful."
A second later a blinding pain shot through Astrid's temple and everything went dark again.
Hiccup finally emerged from his hut around dinner Toothless following closely beside him. They made their way slowly down the connecting walk ways with no particular direction in mind. He just couldn't stand to spend another second inside that hut. The damned walls seemed to be closing in on him and driving him crazier than he already was.
Hiccup's aimless walking led him into the surrounding woods, away from the prying eyes of his team. He wanted-no needed to be alone; he wished to hear only the sound of crunching leaves and the metal click of his prosthetic upon the ground. Not anymore questions about how he's doing.
Odin knows how he's doing, shitty. That's how he's doing.
No, he desperately needed the quiet and to be left alone with his thoughts. Speaking of which.
How could he let this happen?
His Astrid was missing, the women he had pledged his love for, was. missing. Then to make it worse his friend and fellow dragon rider was gone as well. How did it all go so wrong? It sounded like an innocent enough mission: new island, possible new dragons. They had done this sort of thing hundreds of times now. Of course, problems had arisen before but nothing they didn't overcome. They had always been able to come out on top unscathed. So what happened this time? What on Midgard could be keeping them from coming home…if-if they could even come home anymore.
A thumping sound to his left thankfully brought Hiccup out of his dismal thoughts. Calling all his attention.
Thump
Thump
Thump
Hiccup turned to the direction of the sound, curious to see what the rhythmic beating was coming from. He moved around a large tree and there across a good sized clearing, sitting against the farthest tree from him, was Tuffnut.
The said thumping sound was coming from Tuffnut repeatedly beating a stick on a hollow log in front of him. Head turned downwards with eyes unfocused, it was clear that Tuffnut didn't realize Hiccup was there. He looked like he didn't even know he was in the meadow; he looked like he was islands away. Which at the moment he probably was. Consumed in his thoughts.
Not wanting to startle the male twin, Hiccup slowly made his way across the meadow sitting down against the hollow log Tuffnut was currently beating on. Tuffnut continued his drumming despite his audience, the two just continued sitting there in silence; one looking at nothing and the other staring at a man as equally broken as himself.
Deciding to break the silence, "how long have you been out here Tuff?" The drumming paused considering his question and then started again with no response.
Ok clearly that's not going to work, Hiccup thought to himself. "W-we'll get them back." The drumming stopped and didn't continue.
Tuffnut kept his head down but his eyes seemed to come more into focus, "do you really believe that Hiccup?" His question coming out as a whisper.
Hiccup moved his eyes from Tuffnut's still form and rose them to the sky. Almost as if he was willing a certain deadly nadder to fly over head. It would be so much easier then to have to answer his question. Especially since he didn't know if he believed they will get the two lost women back. With all the horrible things rolling around in his head how could he believe that?
Hiccup tried to look on the optimistic side of things, Thor knows it's the only way he made it through his first 15 years of life. Now though, could he really say he believed they would get them back? The world outside of Berk was harsh, harsher than anything even he had experienced growing up. His former level of optimism wouldn't cut it anymore.
Looking back at the downtrodden twin he realized he would do the only thing he could do; tell the truth.
"I-I want to believe that only something minor is keeping them from coming back but…I know better. Whatever has happened I think it will change…everything."
Tuffnut finally raised his head to connect eyes with his leader, nodded his head and then went back to the rhythmic drumming on the log. Neither man spoke another word and didn't leave that clearing until late into the evening. Both lost in their own personal Hell of thoughts.
Little short but it was the best point to stop at. Next chapter Astrid gets to know Screaming Siren Island more than she ever would like to. Also where's Ruffnut?
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